From Seattle, happy birthday~
Chris and I have not only departed from Lancaster and the whole of the east coast (after another short stop down in DC to collect some of Susie's things), but spent a week in Tahoe for a wedding and now arrived in Washington state. We left Pennsylvania on the 12th, en route to Reno's airport via Salt Lake, however the flights were too full to get on (stand-by) and we ended up sleeping in Utah's airport last Wednesday. It was pretty hectic getting coordinated- we left Chris' cell phone at his house and thus had no phone numbers. Then, then next morning we realized Chris' poison oak medication was left on the previous flight (did I mention he had a serious outbreak of hideous pus-filled bubbles erupting from his arm and red sores covering his entire body?), so, while hovering around the pay phones, we frantically hoped his mom could call the doctor and fill his prescription in SL, whereby he hopped the free shuttle to the Mormon Temple, ran to the Rite Aid to pick it up, and raced back just in time for us to (barely) catch the 11:30 flight to Reno. They almost wouldn't let us on, but we filled the last two seats. Finally landing in Reno, we realized that thge sketchbook we had jotted down all important phone numbers (including our pick-up person) was sitting at the payphone in Salt Lake... very convenient.
Eventually everything worked out- after two airpor employees blew us off about contacting SL's airport the Delta baggage claim guy called them right up and had someone walk to the phone and find the book, then they shipped it on the next flight. We successfully got to Lake Tahoe and reunited with my friends Erin and Brian (to be wed) and Brenden and Emily; they were two couples I attached to on SAS. I haven't seen them in over a year, and Chris has never met but heard endless stories about, so it was great catching up and taking reckless advantage of the Lake. The house we [re: guests] stayed at (as well as the reception) was an enormous and beautiful structure right on the water's edge, with an expansive grassy lawn and a pier with the perfect view of the sunset/rise, also including a boat and two kyaks. Brian and Erin arranged virtually the entire wedding at such a low cost, it was amazing how it all worked out (for example the 19.9 mill dollar house which normally rents at 10 grand per day was somehow purchased for a full 5 days at only 3 thousand...!). A lot of friends and family flew in- 150 persons total- and we grouped up quickly and tightly with Brian's Chapel Hill buddies. Their college and high school friends were nothing alike- a huge personality shift- but then again, everyone probably has that experience. Also, my really good friend from the ship, Leah, made it out for the weekend so it was awesome seeing her after so long. She just happened to be on her way to Barbados for a month to research her senior thesis, so I'm very excited for her travels. :)
We spent our time kayaking, swimming, eating, meeting lots of people, and all that jazz which happens around big gatherings. The ceremony was beautiful, and the reception afterward was amazing. The grassy lawn, strung with white paper lanterns Brian set up himself, stretched out with a view of the lake's water and private dock, and we ate until it was time to dance. And dance we did! I was way shy about getting on the dance floor, but once you're on, its all golden. We (i.e. college friends) totally outdanced all the adults, cousins, and high school amigos, finally departing to go skinny dip in the black lake. I'm too ckicken to actually get into the nearly-ice water, especially with air temperatures somewhere around 30 degrees, but it was good fun hanging out on the pier and star gazing. Overall, quite a successful week; from Tahoe we got a lift to the airport and flew to Seattle where Donna and Cam picked us up...~
Eventually everything worked out- after two airpor employees blew us off about contacting SL's airport the Delta baggage claim guy called them right up and had someone walk to the phone and find the book, then they shipped it on the next flight. We successfully got to Lake Tahoe and reunited with my friends Erin and Brian (to be wed) and Brenden and Emily; they were two couples I attached to on SAS. I haven't seen them in over a year, and Chris has never met but heard endless stories about, so it was great catching up and taking reckless advantage of the Lake. The house we [re: guests] stayed at (as well as the reception) was an enormous and beautiful structure right on the water's edge, with an expansive grassy lawn and a pier with the perfect view of the sunset/rise, also including a boat and two kyaks. Brian and Erin arranged virtually the entire wedding at such a low cost, it was amazing how it all worked out (for example the 19.9 mill dollar house which normally rents at 10 grand per day was somehow purchased for a full 5 days at only 3 thousand...!). A lot of friends and family flew in- 150 persons total- and we grouped up quickly and tightly with Brian's Chapel Hill buddies. Their college and high school friends were nothing alike- a huge personality shift- but then again, everyone probably has that experience. Also, my really good friend from the ship, Leah, made it out for the weekend so it was awesome seeing her after so long. She just happened to be on her way to Barbados for a month to research her senior thesis, so I'm very excited for her travels. :)
We spent our time kayaking, swimming, eating, meeting lots of people, and all that jazz which happens around big gatherings. The ceremony was beautiful, and the reception afterward was amazing. The grassy lawn, strung with white paper lanterns Brian set up himself, stretched out with a view of the lake's water and private dock, and we ate until it was time to dance. And dance we did! I was way shy about getting on the dance floor, but once you're on, its all golden. We (i.e. college friends) totally outdanced all the adults, cousins, and high school amigos, finally departing to go skinny dip in the black lake. I'm too ckicken to actually get into the nearly-ice water, especially with air temperatures somewhere around 30 degrees, but it was good fun hanging out on the pier and star gazing. Overall, quite a successful week; from Tahoe we got a lift to the airport and flew to Seattle where Donna and Cam picked us up...~